When Winter Comes
by Window Girl
Summary: Survus Snape tells the story about how he and his older brother Severus fell into the Dark Arts...and how their little sister Summer brought them back to the light, at a terrible cost to herself. Now A.U. after the release of HBP and DH
1. The Wildflower

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it. However, Survus and Summer Snape are my own creations and anyone is welcome to use them

**A\N:** While I have tried not to plagerize anything, I admit that I owe some of my ideas for this story to other books. These include A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket, Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery, and Memories of Summer by Ruth White. Most of the ideas, however, are my own.

**The Woman:** "I'm just a wildflower picked from the plains of Sharon, a lotus blossom from the valley pools."

**The Man:** "A lotus blossoming in a swamp of weeds-that's my dear friend among the girls in the village."

Song of Solomon 2:1-2, taken from The Message bible Copywrite 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

"Severus," my mother said to my older brother when I was born, "I'm trusting you to take care of your little brother. I expect you to keep him safe." She said the same thing to him when our sister was born. Our mother was so crippled with anxiety and depression that it was difficult for her to get out of bed in the mornings. The source of much of her anxiety and depression was our father: a violent alcoholic whose rages sent everyone in the house running for cover. If he was not raging, he was either too drunk to function of suffering from a hangover. Rarely was he sober and functioning, and even when he was, he was not a very pleasant person. So the three of us were basically left to raise ourselves, with our house elf, Twinkle, keeping an eye on things.

My older brother's full name was Severus Salazar Snape. He was small as a boy but grew into a lanky teenager. He inherited our father's hooked nose, greasy black hair, sallow skin, and dark black eyes. From our mother, he inherited an interest in potions. He did indeed take care of my sister and me: entertaining us, comforting us, protecting us. In short, he was often more of a father to us than Father was.

My name is Survus Slytherin Snape. I grew up as the middle child younger than my brother by seven years and older than my sister by two years. Like my brother, I too had inherited a lot of features from my father. However, my eyes were not midnight black but storm gray, like my mother's. I was cheerful and talkative, with a good sense of humor and a love of books and poetry.

My sister's name was Summer Serenity Snape. She was well-named, for she filled our lives with light and warmth. Summer inherited many of our mother's fine features, including a Roman nose and long golden-brown hair. But her eyes were unlike those of anyone else in our family: a brilliant sky blue. Mother always said that Summer's eyes were those of an angel, and it was true. Summer was an angel. She was always there with hug, or a kiss, or a smile, or an encouraging word, or she would just sit with you if you didn't feel like talking. Her wonderful singing voice could bring Mother joy and tame the drunken rages of Father. Like her first name, she lit up a room with her very presence, and like her middle name, she was our peace in the midst of a storm. She was Father's favorite. He never hit her or cursed at her like he did with the rest of us. He often praised her, lavished her with gifts, and even gave her a pet name "Wildflower".

Wildflower. Summer always loved that nickname. "It suits me," she would say, and she was right. Summer was a wildflower: radiant, rosy, and untamed. She was the type of kid who was forever getting skinned knees, scraped elbows, and torn and muddy clothes. The type who regularly tumbled out of trees and always got up, laughing and eager to do it again. Her afternoons were either devoted to wandering the hills and woods beyond our house-exploring every nuke and cranny-, lying in the shade of an apple tree and gazing at the sky, or zipping around our backyard on her Shooting Star racing broom(1). She took the utmost delight in the simple things of life: winter sunshine, a spring rain, a sunrise or sunset, a full moon, a bird song. She was the type of person who enjoyed laughing. Whenever she was happy or amused , the mirth would burst from her in loud whoops and screams. Her entire body would shake with the pleasure of it. She also enjoyed making others laugh, being as chock-full of pranks and mischief as any youngster I've ever met. Sometimes the pranks would make Severus and me mad, but we never stayed angry for long. It was impossible to hold a grudge against Summer. She was just too sweet.

It was not an ideal childhood by any means, but we made the best of it.. We even managed to have fun. Father had us take magic lessons and music lessons, so we spent the day practicing spells and entertaining ourselves on the piano. We read books and drew pictures, played Quiddish, and wizards chess, and hide-and-seek. We explored the hills and caves behind our house and had our fair share of spring picnics, summertime sailings, autumn leaf-romps, and winter snowball fights. In short, in spite of the turmoil in our home, we managed to have all of the antics that youngsters do.

The truth was, we didn't think of ourselves and siblings as much as we thought of ourselves as a single unit, united and fortified against the world. We thought that we could stand up to anything and that nothing could break our unit apart. But life would prove us wrong.

The Shooting Star is a broomstick I found in Quiddich Through the Ages


	2. Hard Lessons

Disclaimer: Again, I do not own Harry Potter.

One thing Summer liked to do that Severus and I didn't was to go down to the muggle village below the hill where we lived and play with the muggle children. Our father, a pure-blooded wizard, despised muggles with all of his being. If it had been Severus or myself, he would never have let us play down there. Summer, however, was his favorite and could do no wrong in his eyes. So, reluctantly, our father allowed Summer to play down in the village, on the condition that she wear muggle clothing and not tell anyone that she was a witch. This was fine with Summer. Overalls and jeans gave her the freedom to run and climb that robes did not, and she was delighted to spend time with other girls who were her age. She became particularly close to one girl, a child with brown hair and brown eyes named Amalee May.

"Survus!" my father bellowed one day. My heart filled with dread, but I answered the call as quickly as I could. "Yes, Father?" I asked meekly.  
"Go down to the muggle village and fetch your sister. It's time for her to come home."  
"Right away, Father," I replied, scurrying out the door.

The streets of the village were empty. There was no sign of Summer or any of the muggle children anywhere. Suddenly, the door of one of the houses was thrown open . A small, rotund woman with flashing brown eyes and a face that was red with anger appeared. She was yelling at a little girl who was curled up on the ground, sobbing. I recognized the woman as Amalee May's mother and the little girl as...Summer!

"Now get off of my property and never come back, you hear me, you little freak! My little girl is innocent, and I won't have her contaminated by witch-filth!" Mrs. May bellowed.

Summe didn't move. She just lay on the ground, continuing to sob. I caught a glimpse of Amalee's in one of the house's windows. She was crying.

"Well, what's wrong with you? Are you deaf? Get off of my property!" She beat Summer over the head with a stick. Summer screamed, jumped to her feet, and ran over to cry in the yard across the street.

"And don't come back!" yelled Mrs. May one last time before disappearing back into her house and slamming the door.

"Summer, what happened?" I asked, sitting down in the grass next to her. Summer threw her arms around me. "Oh, Servus," she sobbed, "it was awful. I know that I wasn't supposed to tell anyone here that I was a witch, but I had to tell Amalee. She's my best friend! She didn't mind, and she promised not to tell anyone, but her mother found out. Mrs. May called me dirty! She called me a monster,a freak, and a demon. She said that I wasn't to come near Amalee ever again, and she told Amalee that we couldn't play together anymore. Then she slapped me and threw me out her door. I don't understand. Why? Amalee's my friend, and I'm hers. I just wanted to play with her. I wouldn't hurt her or her parents, so why was Mrs. May so cruel to me?"

That's when Summer learned the first hard lesson of her life. I hugged her close to me and told her about the long history of war, grudges, hatred, bitterness, and distrust between wizards and muggles.

"But Amalee's not like that," Summer said when I finished.

"I believe you, but Father won't. He knows all about how muggles have treated our kind, and so he thinks that all muggles are bad. Even if he met Amalee and saw how kind and good she is, he wouldn't change his mind," I replied. "Come on, let's get home, or Father will be angry.

We got up. I turned to leave, but Summer stood still, staring at the Mays' house. Finally she said, "Amalee is my friend, and it doesn't have to be like this. Magic and non-magic folk can live together peacefully." "Yeah," I said. I actually highly doubted that. The prejudices of my father and the knowledge of muggle cruelty against wizardkind were already rooted too deeply in me. However, I didn't have the heart to tell Summer that she was wrong. Besides, I just wanted to get her back to the house and have both of us forget about all of it. Summer could tell that I didn't believe her, because she looked at me with those beautiful blue eyes and said, quite firmly, "We can all live in peace together."

"Sure, Summer, whatever you say," I replied, taking my younger sister by the hand and leading her up the hill.


	3. Games

Disclaimer: This is the last time I'll say that Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and not me.

Summer's laughter rang through the air like a bird's song: high, clear and musical. She stood up on the broomstick, her arms spread wide, like an eagle preparing to soar into the sky. Her long honey-colored hair had long since come out of its braid and was flying everywhere, exposing the pale brown, sun-shaped beauty mark on her neck. It was a joyous summer afternoon, and Severus, Summer, and I had decided to take advantage of the sunshine and the fresh breeze with a game of Quiddish. Severus loved Quiddish but had trouble just staying on his broomstick. I loved Quiddish and was fairly good at it. Summer, though, was an entirely different matter. She could probably have caught a quaffle in her sleep(or an apple as was the case here), and when she flew, well, when she flew, one would have thought that she had wings. Summer moved through the air so gracefully, so effortlessly, that one would have thought that she was just gliding on the wind without a broom. Indeed, her skill was such that if she had stood out on the ground one day and said, "It's a nice day. I think I'll fly" and simply jumped up into the sky, I wouldn't have been in the least surprised. Of course, possessing such ability, Summer could never resist showing off, which was what she was doing now.

"Summer," called Severus irritably, "Summer, cut it out! Quit clowning around and sit back down on your broom! We've got a game to play."  
"All right," Summer laughed, making one last loop before sitting down on her broom and looking at him expectantly.  
Severus rolled his eyes and chucked an apple at her. She caught it with ease and tossed it to me. I caught it and tossed it to Severus, who took off flying with Summer and myself upon his heels. We couldn't use real Quiddish balls. There was too much of a chance that they would fly off into the muggle village below our hill, which would have been very awkward. So, my siblings and I played our own version our the game in the orchid behind our house, throwing apples to one another and wrestling apples away from one another.  
I wrenched the apple from Severus's hands.  
"I'm open, I'm open!" Summer called to me.

I tossed the apple to her, and it hit her in the forehead. Summer tumbled off of her broom and dropped five feet onto the ground.  
"Summer!" Severus and I cried in unison, dismounting our brooms in an instant and running over to our sister.  
Summer lay very still on the ground, her eyes closed, her face blank, not breathing.  
I knelt by her side and shook her gently, while Severus watched on with concerned eyes. "Summer, Summer, can you hear me? Summer!"  
For a moment, there was nothing. Then, just as Severus and I were considering going to Twinkle for help, Summer bolted up right, laughing hysterically. "Gotcha!" she yelled gleefully, springing to her feet and sprinting off into the hills.  
Severus and I just sat dumbfounded for a moment before it dawned on us. Of course. One of Summer's favorite games was to pretend that she was dead. She did it so well that she could send Mother and Twinkle into hysterics. She'd been playing with us now; we'd been tricked. Severus and I looked at each other for a split second before dashing off after our deceitful sister.  
Summer was nowhere to be seen, but we could hear her laughter and her voice in the trees. "You can't catch me!" she taunted, as Severus and I caught a little glimpse of honey brown and white dart off into the woods.  
Severus and I began to give chase but stopped. Summer was right, we couldn't catch her. She was almost as fast on her feet as she was on a broom. However, we were her older brothers, and we could gang up on her. Wasting no time, I barreled up the trail that led to the top of the hill while Severus rushed to head her up.

Summer burst through the trees and emerged onto the hilltop, laughing and panting. Just as she had caught her breath and was about to start feeling cocky, Severus and I yelled, "Gotcha!" and burst through the trees both in front and behind her. Summer screamed as the pair of us tackled her. Within seconds, the three of us were tumbling down the hill in a laughing, tickling, shrieking tangle of hair, limbs, and summer clothing. We separated only when we fell into a small pond at the bottom of the hill, where we chased, splashed, and took turns dunking one another.

"Summer," I asked, once we had finally settled down on the bank of the pond to dry ourselves, "why do you always do that?"

"Do what?" asked Summer, rearranging her hair in a braid.  
"Why do you always pretend that you are dead? You know that you scare Mother and Twinkle to death when you

do it, and you scared Survus and me very badly back there," said Severus.  
Summer thought for a moment. "I don't know," she said finally, "I guess that I just think about death a lot. I wonder what it's like to die, what the true significance of being dead is. I guess that I think if I pretend to be dead, I'll find out."

"That's awfully morbid, Summer," I said.

"Not really," replied Summer," besides, dead people don't have to deal with a lot of the awful things that living people do. When I pretend to be dead, I can escape all of the awful things in this world. But since it's pretend, I can come back whenever I want to and enjoy the good things."

"But Summer," said Severus seriously," what would I ever do without you?"

Summer laughed. "Oh, silly, I'm too young to die for real," she chirped blithely, moving to the edge of the pond and dangling her bare feet in the cool water.

"So, you're not going away?" Severus asked hopefully. It might seem a silly question, coming from a sixteen-year-

old boy to his seven-year-old sister, but Summer meant more to Severus than I think she even knew, and to me as well. She lit up our lives, and we didn't want to be trapped in the dark without her.

"Yeah, Summer girl, you sure you won't leave us?" I chimed in.

Summer turned towards us, her expression now serious. "Of course not, Severus, Survus, I could never leave either of you."

"Promise?" Severus and I asked together.

She hugged the both of us tenderly. "I promise. Now come on, let's try to get on some dry clothes before Twinkle finds us and scolds us." With that, she picked up her shoes and skipped off into the trees.

Severus and I followed. We were a bit worried about the scolding Twinkle might give us if she saw us in this state, or the beating that Father would give us, but we weren't worried about Summer leaving us. After all, she had promised, and she was a girl of her word.


	4. The Shadow Rises

A\N: I forgot to mention that the previous chapter was inspired by my friend Lisette, who used to play dead when she was a little girl and did it so convincingly she scared her family. Also, some of the content in that chapter was inspired by a Sailor Moon episode. Again, though, most of the ideas were mine.

Voldemort. Every witch and wizard from the toddlers to the ancients know that name, and they fear it. For twenty years, Voldemort was like a gigantic black shadow that covered the wizarding world, enveloping it in darkness. But in the year of 1977, when I was eleven, Severus was eighteen, and Summer was nine, Voldemort was a mere rumor, an uncertain whisper in the world of adults, a growing dark spot on our bright horizons that we didn't see.

I can still remember what happened on July 6 of that year. Severus, Summer, and I woke up and went down to the kitchen for breakfast as usual. Mother was sitting at the table in her nightgown, weeping, while Twinkle stood by and patted her shoulder.

"Mother, Twinkle, what's wrong?" asked Severus.

Twinkle looked at us with large, sorrowful eyes and replied, "Your father is leaving to go and join the Death Eaters."

The Death Eaters. That was what the new dark wizard Voldemort called his followers.  
Summer was the first to act. Before we could stop her she dashed out the door.

Sev and I looked at each other and followed.

Father was marching up into the hills with a look on his face that was so hard and cold it would make one shiver just to look at it.

Heedless of the expression, Summer sprinted forward and attached herself to his robes. "Father, what are you doing?" she cried.

"Get off!" cried Father, pushing her to the ground. His voice was like a winter wind, harsh and biting. He often used that voice with Severus and myself, but he had never used it with Summer before.

Undaunted, Summer clung again to his robes. "Father, please don't leave," she begged.

Father again shoved her to the ground, roughly this time. Glaring fiercely at her, he pulled out his wand, pointed it at her, and yelled, "Crucio!"  
Father had used the Cruciatus Curse on Severus and myself more times than I can count. He had never used it on

Summer, though, and it was horrible. Summer fell onto her back, her arms and legs tucked inward. She was jerking, and twitching, and rocking back and forth, screaming in agony. Poor Summer. I knew how that felt.  
Severus quickly drew out his own wand and performed the counter curse.

Summer slowly sat up, trembling and breathing heavily, her beautiful blue eyes swimming with tears.  
Father turned and continued up the hill.

"Don't go," Summer softly pleaded, her voice become tight and high pitched as it always did when she was about to cry. "I love you."

She spoke these last words with a sort of desperate hope that they would convince Father to stay. In was all in vain. Father reached the top of the hill and disapparated with a small pop. Summer began to wail.

Severus turned on his heel and dashed into the house, leaving me to comfort our sobbing sister. I knelt beside her on the ground and put a hand on her heaving shoulders. "Shh, Summer, it's okay."

Summer sat up and glared at me through her tears. "No, no, it's not okay. It'll never be okay. Our father is gone. Oh, Servus, what are we going to do?" With that she started wailing afresh and threw herself into my arms.

I held her close and stroked her hair, but I doubt that either us felt any better. The truth was that while I would not miss the yelling, the beatings, the drinking, and the jinxes, my father's departure made me feel as helpless as Summer did. I wanted to crawl into a pair of warm, waiting arms and sob my sorrows out on a sympathetic shoulder as well.

Summer's sobs increased in volume and intensity, and I wracked my brains on what to do. Who could we run to? Mother was probably too busy with her own grief, and Twinkle wouldn't be able to understand our pain. Then it hit me. Of course. Who had Summer and I always run to when we were in pain and needed some comfort? "Come on, Summer girl," I said, letting go of my sister and holding her hand, "let's go find Severus."

Summer sniffed, dried her tears, and allowed me to lead her into the house.

We found Severus in our bedroom, seated on his bed, starting to cry himself.

I climbed up on the bed, hugged him, and laid my head on his chest while Summer climbed onto the bed and laid her head in his lap.  
The three of us stayed in that position for a long time, crying until we were exhausted.

"Severus, don't leave us," Summer begged when we were through.

"I won't. I promise," Severus replied, hugging us tightly to him.

I closed my eyes, listening to the soothing rhythm of his heart, while I grabbed Summer's hand and squeezed it tightly, letting out a sigh of content. My heart still hurt, but I knew that things would be all right. As long as I had my older brother and baby sister, everything would be fine.


	5. Sorrow

A\N: I got the idea for Mrs. Snape to kill herself on her wedding anniversary from the book Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery. The poison, however, was completely my idea.

That summer marked a turning point in our lives. Things began to change very rapidly from that point on. My first year at Hogwarts began a couple of months after Father left us. Severus had already graduated from Hogwarts, and he got married the following year. Mother's mental and emotional state grew worse. She would lie in bed for weeks at a time, never bathing or changing clothes. Then, she would suddenly get up and begin pacing the house restlessly. She was like a child now. She always needed someone to take care of her: to comfort her, clean her, and help her attend to basic bodily needs.

Severus's new wife, Val, was a warm-hearted, generous young woman, completely unselfish. She was perfectly willing to live with us in our rundown hovel of a home and help care for Mother. But Mother would have none of it. "You and Severus are in your honeymoon period. You should go enjoy yourselves. Don't worry about an old, worn-out woman," she said. So Val and Severus moved into the house by the sea shore.

With Severus gone and me at Hogwarts, the burden of caring for our Mother was left largely to Summer. Twinkle did what she could, but she was getting old and wasn't much help. Those must have been lonely days for Summer, with her siblings gone and no other companionship but an invalid mother and an aging house elf. She was so young, and it was such a great responsibility. She bore it bravely, though. When I came home for Christmas during my second year at Hogwarts, she greeted me with smiles and laughter. Twinkle had taught her how to cook in the muggle way, and she hummed cheerfully as she prepared dinner. That was a good Christmas. Severus and Val came over. Mother joined us at the table, wearing white dress robes, her hair washed and braided. She hardly talked, but she ate a lot and smiled a little. When the holidays were over, I returned to Hogwarts feeling confident that Summer had things under control and my mother was going to be just fine.

Three months later, when I returned for the Easter holidays, things had changed. Summer smiled at me when I came home, but I could tell it took a lot of effort. There were dark shadows under her eyes. She had not been sleeping well. Mother had been growing increasingly restless. No longer content to wander about the house, she had begun going outside at night, wandering into the muggle village wearing nothing but a nightgown and a dazed expression. Then Summer would have to get dressed and walk all the way down the hill to retrieve her. Twinkle tried tying Mother to the bed, but she kept escaping anyway. As a result, Summer and Twinkle took turns holding all-night vigils, doing their best to make sure Mother stayed in bed and trying to coax her to lie back down if she did get up.

While I was home, I took the primary responsibility of taking care of Mother, including the all-night vigils. This did not take the burden off of Summer's shoulders, though. I could tell she was really worried. She hardly played anymore. Instead, she sat by the lake, staring at nothing. And she never laughed.

It broke my heart. I told Summer I would drop out of Hogwarts and stay and take care of Mother. My beautiful, unselfish sister wouldn't agree to it. "Mother wants you to get an education," she said. "It would upset her more than anything if you stopped going to Hogwarts. Besides, you'll be home for summer vacation in about a month, and you can help me all the time. Twinkle and I will be fine until then."

So I finished my second year of Hogwarts but not without a lot of anxiety and sorrow weighing on me. I returned home to find that Mother's condition had not changed but that Summer's spirits had improved greatly. She was thrilled at the prospect of my being home for three months. She began to laugh again. Twinkle took over the majority of Mother's care so that we could have more time to spend together. Once again our summer days were filled with swimming in the lake and playing Quiddich in the apple orchard.

Then it happened. It was the morning of June 24, 1979, Mother and Father's 21st wedding anniversary. Summer and I were sleeping late when we heard a wail coming from Twinkle. We jumped out of our beds and rushed to Mother's bedroom. Twinkle was wailing and beating her head against the dresser drawer. Mother lay in her bed, eyes closed and utterly still.

Summer ran over to Twinkle and grabbed her shoulders. "Twinkle, what's wrong? What's happened?"

"Twinkle is sorry, Miss. Twinkle had no choice!" cried Twinkle, tears running down her face.

I went over to the bed and gently shook Mother. She did not budge.

Twinkle let out a shriek of agony. "My mistress tells me she no longer wants to live. She asks me to bring her a bottle of wormwood. Twinkle does not want to, but Mistress begs her. So Twinkle gets the bottle, and Mistress drinks it. Now, she's dead! Twinkle has killed her mistress!" Twinkle threw herself on the floor in a stormy fit of tears.

I looked at Mother. Sure enough, a bottle of wormwood was clenched in her left fist, glinting in the late-morning sunshine. Then I heard a thump from behind me. Summer had collapsed to the ground. At first I thought that she too had died, but the steady pulse in her throat revealed that she had only fainted.

I pulled the bedcovers over Mother's dead body and hauled Summer into her own bed. Then I sent a message to Severus via my owl, Ari. Afterward, I sat at the kitchen table for a long time, listening to the silence that was broken only by Twinkle's agonized sobs.


	6. Devastation

After Mother's suicide, Summer and I went to live with Sev and Val at Bijou(1), their new house on the seashore. We took Twinkle along with us and forbade her to punish herself anymore. We did not blame her for Mother's death. It is the curse of house elves to obey any order given to them, and we all knew how miserable Mother was. It was compassion as well as decades of magically-enforced duty that were behind Twinkle's terrible act.

Mother's death deeply affected Summer. She resumed her old game of playing dead, but it was no longer a game. She felt an earnest need to understand this mysterious thing called death. She would lie on her bed for hours with her eyes closed and her body still, trying to imitate the horrible sight she had found that morning. I told her that this frightened me. I was worried she was going to die for real. Her eyes filled with tears, and she said, "Oh, Survus, I wish I _could_ die. Then I could be with Mother."

But the truth was, Summer loved life too much to dwell on death for very long. As the weeks went by, the hours of playing dead gave way to hours of playing on the beach with Val. Summer loved the feel of the sun on her back, the wind in her hair, the wet sand between her toes. She and Val collected sea shells, made crowns out of sea weed, and splashed together happily in the waves.

Then, there was the fact that Summer was due to start her first year of Hogwarts in September. She was bursting with excitement over it. Severus and I took her to Diagon alley on the first day of August, and she was flurry of activity. She would skip along happily behind or beside us only to run ahead of us when she saw something that intrigued her. Then she would run back to us, grab our hands, and say, "Oh, guys, guys, look! Isn't that the most amazing thing you've ever seen?" In fact, everything in Diagon Alley was "the most amazing thing" Summer had ever seen, from the great marble columns of Gringotts to the rows of shining eyes in Eeylops Owl Emporium. Summer fell in love with a spotted owl. She named it Speckle and tied a bit of green ribbon around its wing to designate ownership.

Her favorite part of the trip, though, was when she got her wand. Exactly nine inches long, made of willow wood with a core of unicorn hair. I'll never forget the way her eyes shown as she carried it out of Ollivander's. "Severus, Survus, just think. I'm a real witch, now." she told us.

About a week after our shopping trip came some wonderful news. Val was pregnant! Summer was thrilled at the thought of being an aunt. She loved shopping for the baby and helping Val decorate the nursery. She introduced herself as "Aunt Summer" to the baby and the womb and went on and on about the things they were going to do together once he\she arrived.

So, there was happiness even in the midst of sadness, and Summer gladly buried herself in it. In fact, she buried herself so deeply in it that she failed to notice the changes in our older brother. I noticed, though. I noticed that he was becoming increasingly withdrawn, not only from his siblings but also from his wife. He had seemed happy enough when she announced her pregnancy, but after that he appeared to lose interest in the baby. He never went shopping or helped with the nursery. Instead, he spent all of his time locked in his study. When I asked him what he was doing, he became defensive, and I began to worry. Still, his farewells and admonishments to Summer and me at the start of term were affectionate, and he had his arm around Val the whole time. So I convinced myself that I was overreacting and pushed my worries to the back of my head.

Summer thoroughly enjoyed her first year of Hogwarts. She was sorted into Gryffendor, whereas I was in Slytherin. This caused a sort of house rivalry between us, and she delighted in teasing me about how Gryffendor was going to beat Slytheryn for the Quiddich cup. She made friends with two girls named Melitta Tahnee and Hepsie Regan who were just as mischievous as she was, and the three of them wreaked havoc on the other first years with all their pranks. Despite her hijacks, though, Summer was still a good student. She did well in all of her subjects except for potions. She didn't like the dungeon because it was so dark and cold, and this made it difficult for her to concentrate in class.

Our nephew arrived in the middle of the Easter holidays. Severus Thomas Snape(named for his father and Val's) weighed seven pounds and six ounces and was twenty inches long. He was the spitting image of his father, with dark hair and eyes and the infamous Snape nose. Summer and I adored him, calling him "Sevy" and fighting over who got to hold him or give him his next bottle.

So, we rode the Hogwarts express home for the summer holidays with a feeling that the year had gone well and a pleasant excitement about having a few months off. All of that changed when we pulled into the train station.

Val was waiting for us, holding two-month-old Sevy in her arms. Severus was nowhere in sight. A feeling of dread began to form in my stomach and creep into my throat.

Summer bounded off the train joyfully, hugging Val and kissing Sevy on the forehead. I followed behind, my heart racing and my body shaking. Somehow, I knew that something had gone terribly wrong.

"Where's Severus?" Summer asked eagerly, looking up into Val's face. Her smile faded when she caught sight of the tear stains on Val's cheeks, "Val, what's wrong?"

Val shook her head. "Not here. Come on, let's go home. " Shifting Sevy into one arm, she offered a hand to Summer. Summer took it, and I held onto one of her sleeves. There was the familiar crushing darkness of Apparition, and then we were in the kitchen at Bijou. Val told Summer and me to sit down at the table while she put Sevy down for a nap. Then, she had something to tell us. Summer now looked frightened, and I squeezed her hand tightly as we pulled out chairs.

We were still holding hands when Val returned. She sat down across from us, and we could see that she had tears in her eyes. "Survus, Summer," she said quietly, "Severus has left me to go and join the Death Eaters."

It was like being struck by lightning. Waves of shock and pain rolled over me, and for a moment I forgot how to breathe. Then Summer said, in an almost inaudible whisper "It's not true."

"I'm afraid it is true, Summer," said Val. She reached across the table to grasp Summer's hand, but Summer pulled away and jumped to her feet. "It isn't true!" she screamed. "It can't be!"

Before we could stop her, she began to run madly around the house, calling our brother's name. "Severus! Severus, where are you?"

Sevy woke up and began to cry. Val went upstairs to comfort him while I followed Summer out the front door. She ran into the ocean, not even bothering to take off her shoes. For a moment she stood there, trembling and panting. Then she looked to the sky and let out a long wail. "Severus, come back, come back ! Severus!"

"Bijou" is the French world for "jewel". I got this information from , where there was a list of French words that could be used as baby names.

**A\N:** Please read and review. There are only four more chapters left in the story.


	7. Into the Darkness

Summer and I had gone through a lot of horrible things in our lives. Severus's departure was by far the worst. He had always been our mainstay, and he had promised not to leave us. Now, not only had he left, he had left for the same reason that our faithless father had. He had left to join that sinister organization: the Death Eaters. It was as if the universe was crashing down around Summer and me. So many emotions swirled through us: sadness, anger, fear, confusion, disappointment. It was unbearable. It seemed that life could never go on.

It did go on, however. The sun still rose every morning and set every evening. The tides still came in and out. Val continued to care for little Sevy just as if her husband hadn't left her, and Summer and I found distractions from our pain.

Summer was about to start her second year of Hogwarts. This meant that she was eligible to try out for the Gryffindor Quiddich Team. She wanted to be Chaser, and she spent the remainder of the holidays practicing. The distraction I found was much more sinister.

A few weeks after Severus left, I gathered up the courage to enter his study. At first I hesitated. After all, the study had been Severus's private sanctuary. Not even Val had been allowed in. Then I thought, _"Screw him! If he wanted to stop people coming into his study he shouldn't have left!"_ I opened the door and went inside.

The shelves were lined with books about the Dark Arts. They had titles like Magick Moste Evile(1) and Secrets of the Darkest Art(2). To this day, I don't know why I opened the latter book and began to read it. I was full of curiosity as a young man, and perhaps the idea of finding out a secret was an irresistible temptation.

In any case, I read the book. I will not describe the things I found in it. They were too horrible. I will say that I was both terrified and fascinated, and I wanted to read more. I couldn't read the books in my bedroom because I shared it with Summer, and I didn't want her to find out. Instead, I began to do what Severus had done. I holed myself up in the study and began pouring over volumes of sinister spells and deadly poisons. At first, all I did was read, but reading didn't satisfy me. I wanted to claim the power in those books for myself.

That was my venture into the Unforgivable curses. I started by procuring a hermit crab. I took this hermit crab into the study and placed it on the desk. I stared at it for a while. It stared back at me with its beady little eyes. Concentrating very hard on what I wanted it to do, I lifted my wand and whispered "Imperio."

I felt a warmth crawl down my arm and into my fingers. The little crab jumped up and did a back flip. It landed perfectly on its feet and did another back flip. As I watched it do flip after flip, a sense of euphoria filled me. I had enforced my will on another being. By casting a simple spell, I had made a living creature do exactly what I wanted it to do. I felt so powerful. I felt so alive.

Thus I began my fourth year of Hogwarts with only one thing on my mind: to explore this new power in me and find a use for it. On the surface, I remained a normal student. I did all of my homework, and I was a faithful a Chaser to the Slytherin Quidditch team as ever. However, I spent all of my spare time reading books about the Dark Arts and practicing the spells in them. At first, my sister Summer didn't notice my new obsession. She herself had become a Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and she was so busy that we rarely saw each other. Then came that fateful day in December.

It was the last Hogsmeade visit before the Christmas holidays. I was in sitting in the Slytheren common room surrounded by books that I had managed to procure from the Restricted Section by forging notes from my teachers. The room was empty because most of my fellow Slytherins had either gone to Hogsmeade or the library. Summer had some free time, and she decided to visit me. I had given her the password to the common room in case she ever needed me.

She came into the room with snowflakes in her hair and her cheeks flushed from playing in the cold. "Hi, Survus," she said cheerfully.

"Hi, Summer," I replied, barely looking up.

"Watcha reading?" she asked, coming over to the table where I was sitting.

I tried to hide the book I was reading from her, but it was too late. She saw the pictures, and she knew what it was. She gasped. "Survus Snape! What are you reading?"

"It's just for research! It's a project I'm doing for Defense Against the Dark Arts! I have permission!" I lied, hastily shoving the book aside.

Summer reached over me and grabbed it. She held it up to her face, grimacing at the gruesome illustrations. "What kind of project are you doing that requires knowing how to make people's bodies turn inside out?" She threw the book to the floor and then knocked the other books to the floor with a swipe of her hand. Now her face was red with anger.

"Survus Slytheren Snape! I can't believe you! How long have you been practicing the Dark Arts? How could you even think about reading this stuff? Don't you realize that this is what corrupted Severus? Don't you realize that these awful books took our brother away from us?"

Before I could reply, she bent down and began picking the books back up. "This stuff is evil, Survus, evil! I won't let it destroy our family! I won't let you be corrupted too!" We were sitting in front of a fire. Completely forgetting that the books were Hogwarts property, Summer threw them into the flames. I let out a howl or rage, and then I did something that I am ashamed of to this day. I pointed my wand at Summer and yelled "Crucio!"

She fell to the ground, screaming and flailing. She struck the table with her head, and it fell to the floor with a bang that echoed off the stone walls. Blood trickled from a cut in the side of her head, and that's when the fog of anger cleared from my mind. That's when I realized it was my baby sister who was writhing in agony. I quickly performed the counter curse and ran over to her to see if she was all right.

Summer lay flat on her back, twitching. Blood and tears were running down her face. She glared up at me with an anger in her eyes that I had never seen before. It was almost like hatred. Then I looked around and saw that all of the noise had attracted the attention of my housemates. They stood in a circle, gazing at me with a mixture of awe and horror. That's when I began to panic. I had performed an unforgivable on my sister, in front of witnesses. Word would get around fast. I was going to get expelled and possibly sent to Azkaban. Pocketing my wand, I ran for my life,

1, 2-These are titles of Dark Arts books that J.K. Rowling used in the series. The latte book is the one that contained instructions on how to make Horcruxes.


	8. Death Eaters

**A\N 1**: I am borrowing heavily from J.K.'s books in this chapter. The cave where Survus hides is the same cave where Sirius hid, and my description of its location and the path leading up to it are based on The Goblet of Fire. The difference is that the Golden Trio visited this cave in the summer while Survus is visting it in the winter. Also, my description of Malfloy manor and the area surrounding it comes from the first chapter of Deathly Hallows. It is implied in the book that Voldemort had never used Malfloy manor as an HQ before, but I figured it's all right since this is an AU story.

**A\N 2:** I have decided that there will be two more chapters after this one and then an epilogue. Technically, that makes three chapters.

I ran, and ran, and ran. I ran up the stairs from the dungeon, through the corridors, out the front door of the castle, and all the way to the edge of the courtyard. At last, I collapsed into the snow. My heart was pounding, my lungs were on fire, and my legs ached. I felt like I couldn't possibly move anymore, but I knew I had to. I had to hide. My first thought was that I could hide in the forbidden forest. Surely no one would look for me there! However, I was scared of what might have been in there. Besides, what if Hagrid stopped me? I decided instead to go to Hogsmeade. I could easily blend in with the other students.

I got myself a Butterbeer from the Three Broomsticks and then wandered around the village for about an hour, wondering what to do. I thought at first about staying at the Hogshead, but that was out of the question. Even if I had the money, the fact that a Hogwarts student was spending the night at a pub instead of at the school would raise suspicion. I kept walking, lost in thought and paying no attention to where I was going. I was finally jolted back to Earth when I practically ran into a sign post. The post had two arrows. The one pointing toward me read "Hogsmeade". The one pointing away from me read "High Street". I vaguely remembered hearing that the High Street led out of Hogsmeade, so I decided to head in that direction.

The High Street was a long, winding road that led through vast, blank fields of white show. There were no shops, and the cottages were few and scattered. After a while I came to a mountain. I stared up at it. It was tall, steep, and covered with rocks and snow. Climbing it was the last thing I wanted to do, but it seemed I had no option. I couldn't stay in Hogsmeade, and I was afraid to ask for shelter in any of the nearby cottages. I had to find shelter on the mountain.

It was a terrible climb. I kept slipping and scraping my knees and elbows on the rocks. The mountain was so steep in some places that I literally had to drag myself up. The snowfall got thicker as I climbed higher, making it difficult for me to see. At last, I stumbled upon a cave.

The three days I spent in the cave were wretched. I had nothing to eat or drink except snow(2). I managed to build a fire and put a warming charm on my cloak, but I was still miserably cold. There was nothing I could do to make the floor of the cave a comfortable place to sleep. The worse part though, was how lonely and scared I felt.

Christmas morning found me shivering by my fire, thinking of Summer. I couldn't get the image of her writhing on the floor out of my head. I couldn't forget the anger in her eyes. I wondered if she would ever forgive me. I wondered if she was even sad that I had gone.

The sudden sound of crunching snow interrupted my thoughts. It sounded like footsteps, and it sounded awfully close. I grew apprehensive. What if the cave I was staying in belonged to some animal, and it was returning to its den? I hurriedly put my fire out, but it was no good. The footsteps were coming toward me. A light suddenly filled the cave. It looked like wandlight. I panicked, backing up against the back wall of the cave and curling myself into a small ball. This was it! The aurors had come to take me to Azkaban.

Then I heard a familiar voice call "Survus?" I looked up. At first all I could see was a dark outline against the bright light. Then, as my eyes adjusted, I recognized him. "Severus!" I cried. Sobbing, I flung myself at him. I told him everything: about my fascination with the Dark Arts, about cursing Summer, and most of all, how much I'd missed him. He rubbed my back, whispering calming words into my ear. "It's all right. Survus. I'm here now. I can protect you. Everything's going to be fine."

After I calmed down, he let go and held his hand out to me. "Come with me. I know a place where you'll be safe." I grabbed his hand, and we Disapparated.

We reappeared in a narrow, forested lane. On one side of the lane, there was a thicket of prickly bushes. One the other side was a tall yew hedge. Severus led me down a path that veered to the right, along the hedge. He continued to clutch my hand as though I were still a small child.

The path led to a pair of black gates. Severus raised his left arm, and we walked straight through the gates with the same ease that Hogwarts students walk through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Gravel and snow crunched under our feet as we followed the path toward an opulent mansion. I recognized the mansion as being the home of Lucius Malfloy, one of Severus's old school friends.

The front door swung open, and Severus and I walked right in. My brother led me down a long, dark hallway to another door. He knocked, and a voice called "Enter!" Severus turned the bronze handle, and we stepped into a magnificent room which contained a white marble fire place. There was a large fire burning, but somehow this made the room look more gloomy than welcoming. By the flickering light of the fire, I could see the outline of someone sitting in a handsome, white brocade armchair. Severus finally let go of my hand. "My Lord," he said, bowing deeply.

The figure rose and walked toward us. I was able to make out his features as he came closer, and what I saw filled me with horror. He was the palest man I had ever seen. His skin was the color of chalk, and he seemed to glow eerily in the firelight. His face resembled that of a snake more than that of a human. His nose was flat with little slits for nostrils. His eyes were bright red with vertical pupils. He was smiling, and the smile was clearly intended to be friendly. However, it only terrified me more.

"It is good to see you, Severus," he said. His voice was high-pitched and cold. He came right up to me and put a hand on my shoulder. I shuddered. It was like ice. Looking directly into my eyes with his horrible red ones he said, "You must be Survus. I have heard much about you. Come, warm yourself by the fire."

Before I could protest, I was being half-guided, half-forced into the white armchair. The man removed my wet cloak and wrapped his own around me. With a flick of his wand, he dried my wet robes. Then he handed me a cup of hot chocolate. In spite of my fear, I began to relax. It felt so good to be warm and dry again.

The man flicked his wand once more, and a matching white armchair zoomed up next to mine. He took a seat in it and said, "Yes, Survus, I have heard much about you, both from your brother and from Abiah Wybert."

I choked on my hot chocolate. Abiah Wybert was a Slytherin sixth year, captain of my Quiddich team.

"Yes, Wybert is one of my servants. He regularly reports back to me. Both he and Severus tell me that you are an exceptionally talented wizard for your age. So-and-so also tells me that you seek power. Well, I can give you power. Tell me, boy, do you know who I am?"

I took another gulp of chocolate and nodded. Of course I knew. There was only one wizard in the world who could be so frightening, and only one wizard in the world that Severus would call "Lord". "You're Voldemort," I replied. As I said it, anger surged up inside me.

"Yes, I am He. You have a lot of anger toward me. Why is this? Do not lie and tell me you are not angry. Lord Voldemort always knows."

"Y-you, you tore my family apart!"

"I can see why you feel that way. After all, your father and brother abandoned you to join me. However, did you not also have a hand in the destruction of your family? Did you not perform the Cruciatus curse on your sister?"

I looked down at my empty mug, my eyes filling with tears of shame.

Voldemort put one of his cold hands under my chin and lifted it so that I was looking straight into his eyes. "Join me, Survus. I could use a young man of your talents. I can give you power beyond your wildest imagination, show you the very deepest secrets of the Dark Arts. Your other option is to go back to Hogwarts, where everyone surely knows by now that you have cast an Unforgivable Curse on your own sister. You can face the wrath of Dumbledore and the Ministry, with no one to protect you. The choice is yours."

When he put it that way, the choice that was best for my self-preservation seemed obvious. Fear was my main motivation, but I realize now that I was also curious about what he could teach me. In any case, I stared into his snake-like eyes and said, "I will join you, my Lord." With that, my fate was sealed.


	9. Love

**A\N:** Thanks to everyone who has been reading this story. Special thanks to semirrhage who added this story to his or her favorites list.

I will not say much about my brief time as a Death Eater. That is not what this story is about. I will say that I committed atrocities, and I will say that I am sorry. People have often asked me how I was able to live with myself when I was a Death Eater. How was could I bear to kill and torture innocent people? The answer is that I thought of my Death Eater activities as a game. When I put on my mask, the game began. I was suddenly no longer Survus Snape, the 14-year-old boy who liked to read poetry and hang out with his brother. Instead, I became an all-powerful dark wizard who could do whatever he wanted without any consequences. I did not view my victims as real people. Instead, I viewed them as objects to play with. When I took off my mask, I went back to being regular old Survus Snape. I carried on reading poetry and hanging out with my brother and forgot all about the game until it was time to play again. I convinced myself that Survus Snape the regular person and Survus Snape the dark wizard were two completely different people, and that what happened to one could not affect the other.

I found out how wrong I was when Severus and I were arrested by the Auror Mad-Eye Moody and tried before the Wizengamot. As I sat chained to a chair and heard the charges against me read out loud, my eyes were opened. I realized how ridiculous the notion that I was two different people had been. I was one person, and I was going to spend the rest of my life in Azkaban. Even worse, I realized how much I deserved it. I hadn't been playing a game. The people I had killed were as real as I was. Like me, they had had thoughts, feelings, and families. They had had as much right to live as I did, and I had taken that away from them. I was flooded with shame, remorse, and fear. I sat in the chair with tears pouring down my face, unable to look my accusers in the eye. My sobs echoed off the walls of the chamber.

Then the court room doors opened again, and I heard a voice cry, "Stop!" I turned around. It was Summer, dressed in Hogwarts robes, striding toward the benches where the Wizengamot members sat with a determined expression on her face. She held her Shooting Star broomstick in one hand and her wand in another. Her long hair was whipped around her face, as if she had just flown over to the Ministry of Magic in a hurry. She stopped right in front of the benches and stared straight up into the face of Bartemius Crouch. He stared back down at her with a mixture of curiosity and disdain.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"My name is Summer Serenity Snape. I am the sister of the accused wizards. I am here to tell the Wizengamot that my brothers are innocent."

The wizards and witches in the seats began to whisper to each other, and the disdain on Crouch's face became more pronounced. "We've heard that before, Miss Snape."

"I swear to you that they were under the Imperius Curse, which was performed by me. I'm quite adept at it, you see."

To prove her point, she pointed her wand at one of the wizards in the stand and cried, "Imperio!" He leapt to his feet and started doing jumping jacks.

Then she said, "If you still don't believe me, look at my left arm. The Dark Lord put his mark on the left arm of all his followers." She pulled back her left sleeve and held her arm up. Several witches and wizards gasped. One witch even screamed.

Our sister. Our brilliant, loving, unselfish sister. She had heard that Severus and I had been caught, and in spite of the horrible things she knew we'd done, in spite of the way we had treated her, she had had compassion on us. She had devised a clever ruse to make the Wizengamot think that she was a Death Eater so that Severus and I did not have to spend the rest of our lives in Azkaban, and she had somehow managed to get from Hogwarts to the Ministry of Magic to show it to them. She was going to take the blame for our crimes so that we didn't have to face Azkaban.

Her story, however, was quite absurd. It would have fallen apart under even the slightest bit of scrutiny. The fact that Summer could make someone do jumping jacks with the Imperius Curse wasn't proof that she could force two people to kill other people. Only a master of the Imperius Curse could do such a thing. If the Wizengamot had examined Summer they would have quickly found out that she was only a novice. The Dark Mark on her arm was an illusion. It mimicked the true Dark Mark very closely, but some of the details were wrong. If an Auror who was familiar with the Mark had looked at her arm, they would have seen through the illusion right away.

It should have all been scrutinized. Another trial should have been held to verify Summer's claims. She should've gotten her day in court. However, these were dark times. The members of the Wizengamot knew that Voldemort was not above using children to do his bidding. They knew that even the most harmless-looking person could be a cold-blooded killer. Then, there was Crouch. He was desperate to get anyone who even looked like they _might_ be a Death Eater off of the streets. The matter of someone's guilt or innocence meant nothing to him. Summer had confessed. She had shown she was capable of dark magic. She had a Dark Mark on her arm. In his eyes, this was good enough reason to send her to Azkaban without a trial.

"Those in favor of imprisonment for Miss Snape, raise your hands!" he boomed.

To be fair to the Wizengamot, there were many hands that did not go up. However, a little over half of the members _did_ raise their hands.

"No!" I cried. "No, don't! It's all a trick! My brother and I are the guilty ones." Severus frantically shook his head. Now he was the one who sobbing.

Summer turned and looked at me. I recognized the expression on her face. It was the look she got when she had absolutely made up her mind to do something and no one was going to stop her. "Shut up, Survus. It's all over now."

"It is done!" cried Crouch. "Take the girl away! The Misters Snape are free to go!"

At once, the chains binding Severus and me fell to the ground. At that same instant, dementors came and dragged Summer away. I sprung up from my chair and tried to run after them, but the cold from the Dementors paralyzed me. Summer looked at me and then at Severus. She smiled and mouthed the words "I love you" before disappearing behind the dungeon doors.


	10. Winter

**A\N: **Thanks you all of you who have been reading and reviewing. This is almost finished.

**Warning:** This chapter and the epilogue are both very sad.

After Summer was taken to Azkaban, Severus and I were indeed cleared of all charges and released. We could have easily gone back to Voldemort and continued our activities as Death Eaters. However, we had no desire to do so. Summer's sacrifice had opened our eyes. We may have killed innocent men, women, and children without remorse, but seeing our baby sister become a causality of our stupidity was more than we could bear. We knew we had to sever all ties with Voldemort and the Dark Arts as soon as possible.

Severus and I went to the only person we could think of: Albus Dumbledore. We confessed everything to him and begged for his help. Dumbledore was wonderful. He put me in touch with a person who, for safety reasons, must remain anonymous. This noble person gave me refuge inside his home while spreading the rumor that I had been killed by Aurors. After Voldemort disappeared, he gave me some Polyjuice potion so that I could safely go back to Hogwarts and continue my education. As for Severus, Dumbledore allowed him to be a spy for the Order of the Phoenix. When the war was over, he gave Severus a job as Potions Master at Hogwarts.

Not only do Severus and I owe our lives to Dumbledore, but we owe him our sister's life as well. While he was helping us rebuild our lives, Dumbledore was also working tirelessly to get Summer released from Azkaban. This was a long and difficult process that took three years. A lot of negotiating and red tape were involved. At last, we received permission to retrieve Summer from Azkaban.

It was a cloudy day in December when Severus and I arrived at Azkaban fortress. A terrible wind was blowing. Walking into it was like walking into a sheet of ice. However, the cold from the wind was nothing compared to the cold we felt as a Dementor glided up to us and led us inside the fortress.

The noise was deafening. The sounds of screaming, weeping, and moaning echoed off the iron bars and were magnified a thousand times in the low-ceilinged chamber. Muttering voices came together in a low, rumbling chorus. My ears rang, and my heart began to pound with fear. The Dementor led us to the last cell on the left side. A sign that read _Prisoner 3224-Summer Snape_ hung next to the door. We peered inside. Severus gasped, and I felt my stomach turn over.

In contrast to the other prisoners, Summer sat completely silent. She was only sixteen years old, but she looked about sixty. Her beautiful, waist-length, golden hair had grown down to her knees. It was dirty, tangled, and streaked with gray. Her cheeks were sagging from her clearly visible cheekbones. They had hardly any pink left in them. There were worry lines across her forehead and at the corners of her eyes. She was frighteningly thin. Her dirty gray robes hung loosely from her small frame, exposing skeletal shoulders. She was unrecognizable. If I hadn't seen the sun-shaped birthmark on her neck, I would have told the Dementors that they had brought us to the wrong girl.

"S-summer," I stammered. "Summer girl, it's us. It's Severus and Survus. We've come to take you home.

Summer didn't respond. She just sat on the little wooden bed in her cell, staring blankly ahead.

The Dementor waved a corpse-like hand, and the iron door slid open. Summer continued to sit and stare. Severus stepped inside, grabbed her bony wrists, and helped her to her feet. "Summer, we've come to take you home," he said.

Summer blinked, but there was no sign of comprehension or emotion on her face. She wouldn't even look at Severus. She just continued staring into space.

Severus began to shake. He took a deep breath and said, "Survus, come and help me." I stepped into the cell. I took Summer's left arm and put it around my right shoulder. Severus took her right arm and put it around his left shoulder. Together, we led her out of Azkaban.

The icy wind blasted our faces, but again Summer showed no reaction. I took off my cloak and wrapped it around her. Then Severus and I helped her into a small boat and we sailed away from that dreadful island. Severus also took off his cloak and wrapped it around Summer. After all, she must be freezing. Her robes barely covered her, and her feet were bare. She still demonstrated a worrying lack of response to her environment. She wasn't shivering, and she seemed unaware that Severus and I were even there.

We took her to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. There, the Healers diagnosed her with a complete mental break-down brought on by the Dementors. I thought of how much Summer had hated the dungeons at Hogwarts. Just being locked in a dungeon for three years, away from the sunshine she loved so much would have been enough to drive her insane(1). The Dementors, however, must have been unbearable. I thought of her being trapped in their dark, suffocating coldness, forced to relive her worst memories. What thoughts had tormented her? Had she been thinking about how I performed the Cruciatus Curse on her? Had she replayed that moment over and over again in her head until she finally snapped?

Severus let out a wail and dropped to his knees, weeping. He grabbed Summer's hand and pressed it to his face. "I'm so sorry, Summer, I'm so sorry," he sobbed. "Please forgive me. I'm so sorry." Summer said nothing. She just lay in the hospital bed, staring at nothing.

I heard that prisoners in Alcatraz used to go crazy because they hadn't seen the sun for so long. That's where I got the idea. It _does_ seem very likely that someone who loved the outdoors as much as Summer could go crazy from lack of sunlight.


	11. Epilogue

It's been twelve years since we brought Summer back from Azkaban. She's been in St. Mungo's the whole time. There has been progress. When she first came out of Azkaban, she was as helpless as a baby. All she could do was sit or lie down. Now, however, she can feed herself and walk unassisted. She can even dress herself a little bit. Her biggest accomplishment in the past few years has been regaining her powers of speech. She's not the chatterbox she once was, but she can say a few words like "brother", "healer", and "chocolate".

Still, progress has been slow. Summer still needs help doing basic things such as taking a bath or going to the toilet. And she is still in a very dark place emotionally. Severus and I have often come to visit and found her wandering around with a lost, scared look on her face. The healers have to be careful not to let her get a hold of a wand. Otherwise, she will use it to hurt herself.

Her time with the Dementors has taken its toll on her physically. Her beautiful golden hair has turned completely white from the stress. There are dark shadows under her eyes from lack of sleep. She succumbs very easily to hypothermia because the Dementors have destroyed her body's ability to keep itself warm. It is as if a long, dark, cold winter has settled upon my Summer.

Yet, sometimes I do see traces of the sister I grew up with. When Severus and I come to visit her on her good days, she smiles at us, and her eyes light up with affection. Just this past year, she has regained her ability to sing. With encouragement from the healers, she has begun to sing childhood favorites like "Odo the Hero" and the Hogwarts school song.

One day, I hope that Summer will be able to live with Severus and me again, in his house on the beach. I hope that she will run and play and laugh again. In the meanwhile, I simply do all I can to take care of her while also working to bring down Voldemort. She sacrificed everything for me, and I will always be grateful.


End file.
